


Voyage of the Temple

by OakwoodOuroboros



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, F/F, Fountain of Youth, Gen, Pirates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 14:47:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19211620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OakwoodOuroboros/pseuds/OakwoodOuroboros
Summary: The Temple has been sailing the seas for centuries, her crow's nest falling to pieces, her flanks covered in barnacles. Not much has stopped the Crystal Gems over the years from hunting the seas in search of their fallen comrades from a different time... not much, until Steven came along, that is...





	Voyage of the Temple

There were not so many people in docks as there would have been any other day, the pitch grating against some of the wooden charging units and leaving black scars on them, just like the clouds against the stretching of the rising sun. Even the gulls were quiet, unnaturally so at such a time.

Despite all this, the docks were far from deserted. In fact, they were more crowded than ever, people of the sea trade as well as sky brigadiers, inhabitants of the land mixed amongst them, all waiting with their eyes fixed on the sea ahead of them. The sun showed itself at last through its veil of clouds, thin rays stretching out so far that it reached the edge of the horizon on the other side of the sky. The crowd amassed on the shore shielded their eyes against the brilliance of the star, but none of them dared look away.

Gently, like in a dream, the brilliant light started detaching itself from the sky. It was slow, silent, like a feather falling into the ocean, although this one particle did nothing to disturb the vast expanse of water. In fact, the waves had abated, and there was nothing more disturbing the boats in the bay. There was no longer the sound of groaning ropes, no more singing of the wind in between the masts and the flimsily repaired holes in the giant hulls.

The sun was now docking. Along her too brilliant flanks, _The Right Arm_ was emblazoned. Without her in the sky, the real sun was left to rise peacefully, not quite as beautiful as the one that was now dimming slowly in the bay, but at least sound seemed to have returned to this world after its reappearance. It wasn’t sudden, it only came along little by little; first the waves, then all the other ones that were governed by the sea, then the breathing and murmuring of the crowd, and last, but not least, the gulls started their deafening tantrum again.

Alien was the only word that could describe the immense vessel. It seemed to be made of some shimmering golden metal that blinded anyone who would look at it at an angle, and the prow figured seemed to move under the glare. Indeed, anyone close enough to the vessel would attest that the prow figure blinked more than once, but of course that was pure madness.

The crowd quietened again as a lone figure finally appeared on the deck of the ship; obviously, she was the captain of the great sky-vessel, her hair in a shapely pompadour and eyes shining with the blood of many a battle.

Yellow Diamond’s voice boomed over the docks, quietening the gulls once more and bringing in the attention of all who were there:

_“Where on this Earth is Rose Quartz?”_

* * *

 

“Here Pearl! I’m right here!”

The boy, as agile as a monkey, had made his way up the mast and along one of the booms. Pearl looked up, her face going as white as a sheet before she started squawking at the laughing boy.

“Steven! You’re going to get hurt, come down here right this instant!”

“Chill, Pearl, he’s been doing this for years.”

“I know but… But what if he fell, Amethyst! Can’t you see how dangerous this is?”

Steven was all but forgotten as Pearl’s attention was redirected to the smaller sailor, hands flying this way and that as she tried to explain away her worry by covering it with righteous fury. Garnet watched all this from a distance, a small smile on her face as she watched Steven make his way up higher and higher along the main mast, the boy’s apparent chubbiness doing nothing to slow him down in his ascension up to the crow’s nest. Finally, he reached the highest point of the mast and fell into the nest (something that Pearl would have been horrified to see, the old thing was falling to bits and she only trusted herself to access that-).

Suddenly, the boy started shouting, and everyone’s eyes were immediately on him.

“Garnet! Amethyst! Pearl! Land! I see land!” he shouted excitedly, jumping up and down in the crow’s nest, much to Pearl’s chagrin. “And… there’s something else there? Like, glowing…”

Immediately, Garnet leapt from her position near the wheel and landed primly on top of the main mast, standing on the pointed piece of wood as easily as if she were on land. Amethyst and Pearl followed suit, taking their places on the mizzen and foremast respectively.

“It’s her,” she whispered, and even Steven probably saw the crack in her façade. “We’re turning this ship around right now! Amethyst, get the sails, Pearl, the wheel.”

Garnet had better things to do. She picked up Steven in her strong arms and despite his wriggling and protests, she pulled him close and jumped down to the deck below, before kicking the door to the captain’s cabin in and ushering him below deck.

“Wait, Garnet! What is this all about? Why are you doing this?”

“You wouldn’t understand, Steven,” she said in a strained voice. “It’s…”

She was interrupted by the movement of the ship, which suddenly groaned to what seemed to be a stop on the ever-moving ocean and sending Steven tumbling head over foot at the sudden movement, or lack thereof. Then, just as suddenly, the ship sped forward again, the wind this time filling her sails to the fullest extent and pushing her forward like a leaf along the strongest current.

All this time, Garnet remained unperturbed, standing as upright as ever and making sure that Steven’s lack of balance didn’t hurt him. As soon as she made sure that he was safe, the tallest member of the crew ran out to join the others, jumping back to her observation spot and watching as the golden glow in the distance gently faded out until it had disappeared over the horizon.

She sighed with relief. They wouldn’t be caught this time.

“Garnet! What was all that for?”

While she had been reflecting on what close a call that had just been, Steven had taken the opportunity to climb back up the mast and fall into the crow’s nest again, completely out of breath, but with a righteous fury in his voice. Garnet understood where he was coming from: he was only a child, after all.

“Steven… I’m sorry, we’re not going to be able to see Greg for a while.”

The boy puffed out a few breaths, winded, before answering.

“But-“

“That, Steven, was a Diamond. It’s lucky that you spotted her, otherwise we would have sailed right into her trap.”

“But I thought we were the Crystal Gems! Couldn’t have we taken on if they were bad guys?” Steven pouted.

Garnet leaned down and took his face in her silk-gloved hands. She could see in his eyes that he was holding back tears, and as she held him, he sniffled, obviously disappointed that he couldn’t get to see his father.

“Steven… Thank you for being so brave. I’ll explain this all to you this evening, once we’re well and truly safe, alright?”

He hiccupped and nodded, smiling weakly at Garnet before pulling away and drying his tears on his forearm.

“Hey, you two! Get out of that crow’s nest right this instant!”

 

**Author's Note:**

> So uh, hi everyone, I can't believe this is only my second Steven Universe fic, considering how passionate I am about the fandom. But hey, here I am, back with a new fic I really really hope I'll be able to complete (eventually, like with everything that I write).  
> A fair warning to the one's who are better acquainted with ship vocabulary: I am definitely not, so if anyone sees any mistakes, please correct me. Also, the Temple is based off of a man-o'-war, which may or may not make sense. Thank you for reading, anyhow!


End file.
